Pittsburgh Steelers 24 – New York Giants 17

Giants Fall to Steelers 24-17 in a Snoozer: In a somewhat unexciting preseason contest, the Giants fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 in the Giants’ first home preseason game at their new stadium.

With quarterbacks Eli Manning (head) and Jim Sorgi (shoulder) not playing, third-string quarterback Rhett Bomar played the entire game and finished 13-of-26 for 167 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.

Also missing on offense were starters HB Brandon Jacobs (stiff neck), RG Chris Snee (leg), and LG Rich Seubert. WR Hakeem Nicks was thrown out of the game very early for fighting with a Steeler defender.

The Giants’ starting defense played into the second quarter against the starting offensive of the Steelers. The defensive unit only gave up one scoring drive – a 13-play, 58-yard affair on Pittsburgh’s third possession that resulted in a 26-yard field goal. The Steelers’ second drive ended when CB Corey Webster intercepted a deep pass by QB Ben Roethlisberger.

The Giants’ starting offense struggled on its first three possessions, accruing only one first down on each drive. But after the Steelers went up 3-0, the Giants responded with a 7-play, 75-yard effort that ended with a 9-yard touchdown run by HB Ahmad Bradshaw. The big play on the drive was a spectacular, diving 45-yard reception by WR Steve Smith.

When most of the starters on both teams left the game late in the second quarter, the Giants were leading 7-3.

But shortly before halftime, the Giants’ second-team unit gave up a 68-yard touchdown pass from QB Byron Leftwich to WR Mike Wallace as CB Bruce Johnson was burned deep and third-string safety Michael Greco was late in support.

The Giants responded with a drive from their 18-yard line to the Steelers’ 41-yard line, but with a minute to go before halftime, Bomar threw a terribly errant pass that was intercepted. The Steelers blew a chance to put more points on the board when the Giants’ defense stiffened up at the 1-yard line and time expired on a 3rd-and-goal running play.

At halftime, the Giants trailed 10-7.

In the third quarter, the Giants’ second- and third-team players played dreadful, uninspired defense as the Steelers easily put together two long touchdowns drives and went up 24-7. The Steelers ran right up the middle of the Giants’ defense and passed at will when QB Dennis Dixon threw the ball.

The Giants did tighten up the game in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points to pull within a touchdown. A 12-play, 74-yard drive that was aided by three Steeler penalties, including a roughing the passer penalty on an incomplete third-down pass, ended with a 1-yard touchdown dive by HB Andre Brown. PK Lawrence Tynes kicked a 42-yard field goal on the next Giants’ possession after the Giants drove 55 yards in 10 plays.

But the Giants could not gain a first down on their final possession of the game, one which started from their own 1-yard line after a muffed punt by WR Victor Cruz. The Steelers then proceeded to run out the clock by gaining two first downs on the ground.

Video highlights of the game are available at NFL.com.

Post-Game Injury Report: HB D.J. Ware and S Sha’reff Rashad left the game with concussions.

Post-Game Notes and Quotes: Not playing for the Giants were QB Eli Manning (head), QB Jim Sorgi (shoulder/ribs), FB Jerome Johnson (arm), WR Ramses Barden (back), OG Chris Snee (knee), OG Rich Seubert (hand), OG Kevin Boothe (PUP – chest), LB Chase Blackburn (knee), and S Michael Johnson (back).

Also not playing were recently signed OG Shawn Andrews and QB Dominic Randolph.

HB Ahmad Bradshaw and S Antrel Rolle did not start because they were being disciplined for missing team meetings.

“I was in the hotel and I read my schedule wrong, so I was late for a special teams meeting,” Rolle said. “I’ve been around long enough to understand there are consequences, so I took it like a man. There is no issue. We’ll move on.”

LB Keith Bulluck (knee) and S Kenny Phillips (knee) played a limited amount of snaps for the first time this preseason. “It felt great just being back out there,” Bulluck said. “I felt great. I guess you could say I am officially a New York Giant.”

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